Critical Development Theory: Contributions to a New Paradigm

by Ronaldo Munck, Denis O'Hearn (Editor)

In the late 20th century, there has been a rethinking of the whole concept of development, including a growing awareness of its gender, cultural and environmental dimensions, and the impact of globalization. The contributors to this volume seek to extend these debates to a more fundamental level, tackling such issues as the crisis of development as an intellectual and practical project, the need for a break with development as a Eurocentric concept, and the viability of alternative, non-Western forms of development. The contributors aim to transcend critiques of development which simply engage in a blanket dismissal of the whole enterprise and instead offer ways of re-engaging with reality that, despite globalization, is still a dimension of the late-20th century.

240 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 1999

Reviews

[Simon Riley · Rating 2 out of 5]

While not entirely irrelevant, many of the essays are fairly dated, at least from the perspective of someone working in the field of development. With neither rigorous historical analysis nor any accounting of the tremendous economic, social and geopolitical changes which have occurred globally in the last 20 years, taken as a whole the work serves more as a snapshot of an academic discipline in crises than a enduring contribution to development theory. Possible exceptions to this overall characterization might be seen in some of the works in the section on political economy and, especially, in Ziauddin Sardar's "Development and the Location of Eurocentrism".